The Real Beauty of the Dove Campaign: A Critical Analysis - Case Study Example

RUNNING HEAD: The Real Beauty of the Dove Campaign The Real Beauty of the Dove Campaign: A Critical Analysis [Date] Table of Contents Dove®: The Brand Name and Its History 3 Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty 4 Objectives and Initiatives 5 Research 6 Advertising Campaign 7 The Communications Process 11 The Consumer Process Model 11 Brand Positioning 13 Recommendations 14 References 16 The Real Beauty of the Dove Campaign With the advent of modern technology employed by the mass media, the concept of beauty has been transmuted in that it can be equated with popularity and fame. Because of this, beauty has always been associated with celebrities, supermodels, actresses, and sports stars. This is why beauty products have always employed the use of flawless celebrities, popularly beautiful actresses, and svelte supermodels as endorsers. The list of celebrity endorsers are long—with Courteney Cox for Kinerase, Jennifer Aniston and Eva Langoria for LOreal, and Cameron Diaz for Nivea—and many know how they are so frequently used by various beauty products, whether in skincare, hair care, or cosmetics. This paper will discuss and analyze in detail an advertising and marketing campaign that dared to defy the picture of someone being beautiful only when she looks like a supermodel or a celebrity. Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty has been chosen to be analyzed, not only because of its success, but more importantly, because of its uniqueness and boldness. Dove®: The Brand Name and Its History Dove is a trademark product of Unilever, one of the leading conglomerates which manufactures “consumer-packaged goods, household products, foods and beverages, personal products and specialty chemicals” (Dove.com, 2007a). Unilever is based in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and has a total of five hundred companies in seventy-five different countries under its wing (Dove.com, 2007a). Because Dove is a part of the Unilever conglomerate, it has the advantage of sharing Unilever’s vast technological, marketing, and scientific resources (Dove.com, 2007a). Because Dove is now one of the leading brands in skincare products, many do not know that it was initially developed as a “a non-irritating skin cleaner for pretreatment use on burns and wounds” during the World War II era (Dove.com, 2007a). It was only during the 1960s that the Dove® Beauty Bar was launched nationwide (Dove.com, 2007a). The past decades have seen the Dove® Beauty Bar being recognized for its mildness—as it outranked seventeen other soap bars in the category—and its number one rank as a physician-recommended cleansing bar (Dove.com, 2007a). Because of the successes of Dove as a beauty bar, Unilever began to develop an array of other beauty products under the brand. At present, Dove now includes the following products under its brand: Moisturizing Body Wash, Sensitive Skin Bar, Facial Care Cleanser, Facial Cleaning Scrub, Facial Care, All Day Moisturizing Body Wash, Anti-Perspirant/Deodorant line, Hair Care line with Weightless Moisturizers™, Massage Body Wash and Cool Moisture Body Wash and Bar, Body Lotions, Hand Wash, and the recently launched the Intensive Firming range of products (Dove.com, 2007a and “Unilevers "Real Beauty" Campaign for Dove,” 2006). Throughout its product history, Dove came to known as a brand that a consumer turns to when looking for mildness and quality in a skincare product. Today, Dove is considered as “the worlds number 1 cleansing brand with double-digit growth” with “sales of over € 2.5 billion a year in over 80 countries” as it continues to “outsells all other skin care bars combined” (Unilever, 2007). Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty With the weakening of Dove’s sales in 2003 and 2004, Unilever and the top Marketing and Advertising Executives of Dove met in order to formulate an effective strategy of addressing the situation (Brodbeck and Evans, 2007). Thus, the Campaign for Real beauty was launched initially in the UK in September 2004, then in the United States and Canada the next summer, with the precept of focusing on the target audience, instead of the product (Brodbeck and Evans, 2007). This campaign has the goals of both rejuvenating Dove’s branding and position in the market, as well as, providing a feministic service to women. Hence, the target market is defined as women of all shapes and sizes, age, and color—regular women who have needs for Dove’s wide array of products. Objectives and Initiatives Philippe Harousseau (2005 quoted in “Unilevers "Real Beauty" Campaign for Dove,” 2006), Dove’s Marketing Director, expressed their innovative and sincere global campaign by stating that “We want to challenge the definition of beauty. We believe that beauty has become too narrow in definition. We want to defy the stereotype that only the young, blond and tall are beautiful.” More specifically, the campaigns objectives are (Brodbeck and Evans, 2007): Increase the sales of Dove beauty products and new product lines. Create dialogue, debate, and discussion about the true meaning of beauty. Attract national TV and print media coverage. Gain local press attention in the hometowns of models featured throughout the campaign. Drive users to the CFRB Web site to share their thoughts and opinions about the campaign and beauty stereotypes. Create a call to action for consumers to join the movement through website pledge that activate a donation by Dove for self-esteem awareness programs. With these objectives in mind, Dove’s Campaign for Beauty includes the following projects and initiatives, with the foremost mission of “[making] women feel more beautiful every day by challenging today’s stereotypical view of beauty and inspiring women to take great care of themselves” (Brodbeck and Evans, 2007): Creation of a forum for women to participate in a dialogue and debate about the definition and standards of beauty in society. Release of a global, academic research study that explores the relationship that women from around the world have with beauty and its links to their happiness and well-being. Advertising that inspires women and society to think differently about what is defined as beautiful. Fundraising initiatives (sponsored by the Dove Self-Esteem Fund) to help young girls with low body-related self esteem. Self-esteem workshops with young girls in schools to help them foster a healthy relationship with and confidence in their bodies and their looks. Establishment of the Program for Aesthetics and Well-Being at Harvard University, through a grant from Dove, which will continue to examine the way we think and talk about beauty in popular culture and the effect that this has on womens well-being. Creation of a global touring photography exhibit, Beyond Compare, Women Photographers on Beauty, showcasing diverse images of female beauty from 67 female photographers, and demonstrating that beauty is about much more than stereotypes. (Dove.com, 2007b) Research This movement, which aims to revolutionize how women and society in general view beauty, is based on solid preliminary research commissioned by Unilever in ascertaining the appropriateness of the direction and goal of the campaign. The company contracted StrategyOne, an applied research firm, together with experts Dr. Nancy Etcoff and Dr. Susie Orbach, to embark upon a research study entitled “The Real Truth About Beauty” (Brodbeck and Evans, 2007). The study found that among the 3,200 women participants, only two percent saw themselves as beautiful; seventy-five percent describes their beauty as average; and fifty percent thinks of themselves as overweight (Brodbeck and Evans, 2007). The results are surprisingly very pertinent to the campaign that was conceptualized by Dove, so much so that it seems that the women is calling out for specifically this type of campaign. Advertising Campaign At the crux of Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty are its visually unique and stimulating print ads, videos, and commercials. At the center of these advertisements are the real women who embody real beauty and not the young stereotypical models with slim bodies, symmetrical facial features, and perfect hair and makeup. a) Print Ads and Billboards – Dove’s Real Beauty print ads are very attention-grabbing coupled with short, but very catchy tag-lines. For instance, Irene Sinclair (shown below), 95 years old, is shown in her most natural with the question “Will society ever accept old can be beautiful?” after the blank check boxes daring society to choose between “wrinkled” and “wonderful.” Another set of print ads depict six women (they entered a contest and won) who embody what regular and real women look like. The next set for the hair care line features regular women with regular hair—not the kind that is blow dried and takes hours to prepare, or even “PhotoShopped.” b) TV Commercials – Dove’s Campaign included the establishment of the Dove Self-Esteem Fund and its partner uniquely ME! in line with its goal of redefining the concept of beauty. The commercials were very moving, depicting girls of various young ages contemplating thoughts that states “hates her freckles,” “thinks she’s ugly,” wishes she was blonde,” and afraid she’s fat.” After showing these children’s serene faces, they are next shown smiling, with a call to action: “Let’s change their minds. We’ve created the Dove Self-Esteem Fund because every girl deserves to feel good and see how beautiful she really is.” Another commercial shows the true nature of advertising where a seemingly plain woman is transformed into a gorgeous (and photoshopped) model. The video is then concluded with the statement “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.” These were launched during the Super Bowl of 2006 and during the show “The Apprentice” in February of 2005 (Brodbeck and Evans, 2007). c) The Web Site – The official web site for the Campaign for Real Beauty showcases all that is happening within the campaign. Discussion boards are also provided wherein anyone can ask the experts or express their opinions regarding beauty. This is where Dove, aside from its research studies and surveys, controls, reviews and rethinks its future strategies as they are kept up to date to what the consumers are thinking. The research studies commissioned by Dove can also be downloaded here. The site also explains Dove’s history, and other FAQs. The site is so comprehensive that it is, in fact, one of the main sources of information for this paper. A Critical evaluation of Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty Based on the discussion above, it can be seen that Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is not only a marketing strategy, but an integrated communications campaign, wherein the whole marketing process is looked at from the viewpoint of the customer (Kotler, 1997). Because Dove’s campaign was not centred on the product, but rather on the women who is already buying or will buy the product, it has employed an integrated communications campaign. In fact, Dove went beyond this approach as its campaign acts as a call to action to redefine the popular concept of beauty. This section will critically analyze the communications theory that the author thinks Dove employed in this campaign, as well as the competitive edge it presents and the effective ways that the campaign communicated with the target audience. The Communications Process Literature on the study of communication is deep and spans decades of research and study. With the more complete definition of the communication process as depicted in the sender→ message→ receiver model, wherein the sender encodes the message through a particular medium; the message is decoded by the receiver; and response and feedback are then given by both ends, it can be deduced that this is the foundation for all forms of communication practices like marketing and advertising. Having thus delineated the communication process where communication models are based, each giving various importance and attention to the three key participants (the sender, message, and receiver) in the process, the author can now proceed to the Consumer Process Model—the chosen model that is applicable to Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. The Consumer Process Model The Consumer Process Model is the application of the more general and basic communication theories to the field of marketing. Based on the name of the model, it is obvious that this type of communication theory gives special importance to the consumer. What it does is it analyzes the steps involved in how the consumer makes a decision on what to buy and whether to buy or not. To put it simply, the senders contemplate on what it is like to be in the receivers’ shoes. There are eight important stages that this model gives importance to that are taken as parts of the consumer’s decision-making process. They will subsequently be enumerated and applied to Dove’s campaign. 1. Exposure to Information (What do I see?) – With Dove’s preliminary research, they have concluded that women’s definition and concept of beauty have been distorted to fit the prevalent one—that of the supermodel look. 2. Selective Attention (Which part of it interests me?) – Because of the results of the review of consumers’ exposure to information, Dove decided to deviate in what the consumers usually see in order to grab their attention. 3. Comprehension of Information (Do I understand it?) – In order to present the message of their campaign, which is redefining the dominant concept of beauty and developing self-esteem in women of all ages, Dove opted for simple yet catchy tag-lines and graphic images that encapsulates the meaning of the message (i.e. “because every girl deserves to feel good and see how beautiful she really is”). 4. Agreement with comprehended information (Do I empathise?) – With the use of emotional television and print ads, coupled with meaningful text, Dove has made sure that the target audience will be able to empathise. 5. Retention in memory (Worth remembering?) – Because Dove’s aim is not merely to sell beauty products, but to uplift women’s view of themselves—and of course, because of its touching campaign that is specific to every country—women worldwide will remember how Dove paid attention to their needs and well-being. 6. Retrieval of information from memory (Recall details) – Women are in touch with their feelings and the Dove’s Campaign is as moving as it can get. The pictures of smiling regular women and the children with low self-esteem are attached to the feelings evoked in the women. They will remember them because they have felt something different with the campaign, a connection that is very personal. Long after the commercial is finished, women are sure to remember how they felt and some will even mull about it. 7. Consumer decision making from alternatives (Decide to act) – Banking on its unique campaign, Dove has ensured that they have made a distinction among its competitors. 8. Action taken on the basis of decision (I’ll go for it and buy one) – Buying Dove’s products does not only mean buying a lotion or a bar of soap, it means supporting the concept that every woman is beautiful. Thus, it is like the consumers are contributing to a cause by buying Dove, while at the same time feeling empowered and beautiful. Brand Positioning According to Kotler (1997), “positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image so that they occupy a meaningful and distinct competitive position in the target customer’s mind.” Getting the brand defined and differentiated means positioning the brand. While the aforementioned definition of ‘positioning’ is clear enough, it is better explained through the words of the two men who popularized the term, Al Ries and Jack Trout. According to Ries and Trout (cited in Kotler, 1997), “Positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of a prospect.” It can be said that Dove has successfully positioned itself as it has found a very personal connection with its target audience. Beauty remains to be a physical characteristic that is a source of shyness and lack of self-confidence for women, due mainly to the prevalent concept of beauty that is heightened by celebrity endorsements. Dove addressed this by using real women as their endorsers—endorsers that the target audience can relate to. The brand has empathized with every girl and woman’s insecurities and vowed to help them find and feel the beauty that each of them has. “By showing a wider range of skin types and body shapes, Doves advertising offers a democratized view of beauty to which all can aspire” (Clegg, 2005). Dove not only addressed the needs of women in providing exceptional beauty products, it went beyond that in instigating a movement to redefine beauty and empower women of all ages. After the Campaign for Real Beauty has taken off, Dove has become not just another brand of beauty products like Nivea, Neutrogena, Kinerase and LOreal whose main goal is to sell products by using celebrity endorsers—more significantly, it has become a brand that pays attention and gives importance to the real needs of real women. “Doves refusal to bow to aesthetic convention is a clever piece of branding, unifying its products around a compelling idea and setting Dove apart from rivals” (Clegg, 2005). Women are not treated as just consumers, but as persons who are inherently beautiful and have the need to feel that they are beautiful. Thus, it can be said that Dove’s campaign has succeeded in positioning itself in the minds of its target audience and edging out its competitors. A proof of this is the fact that its revenues in the UK alone increased by 700% during the first year of its campaign (Miller, 2006). Recommendations Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is already on its third year, and its success has not yet diminished as it acclimates the campaign to different countries worldwide. It is a plan that is well thought of as seen in its comprehensive advertisements and programs like the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. Women are now more aware of the situation created by the glamorization of beauty due to brands employing celebrity endorsers. Because of this, Dove has positioned itself in the hearts of women as a brand who really cares. In order to further sustain the success of the campaign, it is recommended that Dove continue with its creative advertisements, with more variations released at least once a year. The public should also be updated about the developments of the Self-Esteem Fund and the uniquely ME! program to let them know that it was not just for publicity and product sales. Dove should also keep in mind that they have to do this in moderation so as not to overly saturate the public. These should be made so that the consumers will not forget the brand and its message. It is also important not to make overly bold moves that can cause negative reactions that can reverse the success of the campaign. All in all, it can be said that these recommendations are redundant as this is what Dove has done throughout the campaign’s run of almost three years. However, Dove should not be complacent about its current success as it can be reversed with one wrong move. All the competitors need is an opening in order to swoop down and take over Dove’s current position as a market leader. References Brodbeck, M. and Evans, E. (2007). Dove Campaign for Real Beauty Case Study. Public Relations Problems and Cases. Retrieved May 3, 2007 from http://psucomm473.blogspot.com/2007/03/dove-campaign-for-real-beauty-case.html Clegg, A. (2005). Dove Gets Real. BrandChannel.com. Retrieved May 3, 2007 from http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=259 Dove.com (2007a). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved May 3, 2007 from http://www.dove.us/were_listening/faqs.asp Dove.com (2007b). Why the Campaign for Real Beauty?. Retrieved May 3, 2007 from http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/supports.asp?section=campaign&id=94 Kotler, P. 1997, Marketing Management, 9th Edition, Prentice Hall, Inc., New Jersey. Miller, M. (2006). The Evolution of Doves Ad Campaign. Wonderful branding: Marketing to Women. Retrieved May 3, 2007 from http://michelemiller.blogs.com/marketing_to_women/2006/03/ive_written_her.html Unilever (2007). Dove. Retrieved May 3, 2007 from http://www.unilever.com/ourbrands/personalcare/dove.asp “Unilevers "Real Beauty" Campaign for Dove” (2006). Retrieved May 3, 2007 from http://www.icmr.icfai.org/casestudies/catalogue/Marketing/MKTG155.htm Read More